Struggle Over Miners' Concession Coal
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NERS who were against the collectng, of concession coal by a haulier muted by the Mineworkers' Union advised, on Tuesday, by the West Ind Licensing Authority, Mr. J. Else, tend a union meeting to ventilate feelings. He said this when adjournn application by Mr. C. Wood, of worth, who was making a short-term nee application for three hired [es, and to vary a B licence by the on of a further vehicle for the .ge of miners' allowance coal within iles of Tamworth.
preliminary hearing of the applicaLad been held by Mr. Else previously vhen it appeared that the objectors— d by the R.H.A.—were alleging that pplicant was operating at uneconoales, Mr. Else adjourned the case iggested that the applicant produced ed figures of operations.
ring evidence, Mr. Wood said that lort-term licence had been granted, ble from September 9, he had been ng very happily on the estimates he had given for the carriage of :stioned by Mr. N. Carless for the tors about the use of vehicles being ted, Mr. Wood said he was hiring
one of his permanent B-licensed vehicles providing a driver "through the labour exchange ". The vehicles he was using under the short-term licence were also hired. Two of these, he said, were operating under a C licence with Bedworth Coal Suppliers and a third was on a C licence operated by a Mrs. Chipman.
Asked if he was going to produce figures showing earnings, Mr. Wood replied that his word was his bond.
One driver, he said, earned £8 16s. on one day. He charged Ils. for a delivery of 12 cwt. of coal, whereas the Coal Board rates were 14s. Id. for 18 cwt.
Mr. Wood said his vehicles were earning about £70 a week. He reckoned that the profit per vehicle was in excess of £27 a week.
Asked by Mr. Carless how much he paid for the hire of a vehicle, Mr. Wood said: "I take a cut out of the whole thing and they (the owners) are responsible for collecting the money, supplying the petrol, oil and everything."
Asked if he was in a position to know whether the hirers were making any profit, Mr. Wood said he did not know.
Before Mr. Wood had given evidence, officials of the Mineworkers' Union and the Coal Board gave evidence of meet ings which had been held when it was decided that arrangements whereby the objectors were enabled to collect concessionary coal at the collieries for miners were discontinued and a contract awarded to Mr. Wood. Steps were taken to see that no one, other than the applicant or sub contractors of the applicant, would be allowed to pick up the coal.
Before adjourning the application, Mr. Else said that it was quite clear from the evidence that the Union had "turned off the tap" (stopped other hauliers from carrying the coal). "1 make no criticism of that ". he said, "in the sense that if they arc entitled to turn off the tap, then so he it. But I am thinking of a meeting which is to be held in the near future. If it is to be part and parcel of the objectors' case that certain miners want their coal carried by the objectors rather than by Mr. Wood, they would be well advised to ventilate their feelings on this subject at the meeting ", he concluded.